STATE OF THE MARKET

Median price increased to $110,000
Courtesy of the Orlando Regional Realtors Association
June 13, 2011 – Orlando, FL

• The 2,367 sales transactions that were completed in May 2011 is 14.95 percent less than were completed in May 2010, which was on the heels of the federal homebuyer tax credit. At the current pace of sales, there is a 4.63-month supply of homes (lowest since December 2005).
  

• Homes of all types spent an average of 104 days on the market before coming under contract in May 2011, and the average home sold for 94.95 percent of its listing price. In May 2010 those numbers were 83 days and 94.75 percent, respectively.

• Pending sales – those under contract and awaiting closing – are at currently their highest point (10,210) since May of 2010 (10,351).
  

• The area’s average interest rate decreased in May 2011 to 4.66 percent, from the 4.89 percent posted in April 2011.

• First-time homebuyer affordability in May decreased to 175.27 percent from last month’s 178.61 percent, which can be attributed in part to the increase in median price. First-time buyers who earn the reported median income of $36,538 can qualify to purchase one of the 5,677 homes in Orange and Seminole counties currently listed in the local multiple listing service for $163,874 or less.

• The Orlando affordability index decreased to 246.73 percent in December. (An affordability index of 99 percent means that buyers earning the state-reported median income are 1 percent short of the income necessary to purchase a median-priced home. Conversely, an affordability index that is over 100 means that median-income earners make more than is necessary to qualify for a median-priced home.) Buyers who earn the reported median income of $53,447 can qualify to purchase one of 11,729 homes in Orange and Seminole counties currently listed in the local multiple listing service for $261,532 or less.

• Sales of existing homes within the entire Orlando MSA (Lake, Orange, Osceola, and Seminole counties) in May were down by 12.82 percent when compared to May of 2010. Throughout the MSA, 2,925 homes were sold in May 2011 compared with 3,355 in May 2010. To date, sales in the MSA are up 2.30 percent.